Peripheral equipment for use in connection to PCs (personal computers), such as printers, scanners, facsimiles, and copying machines, has been put on the market. Here, when a peripheral equipment is to be used, being connected to a PC, it is necessary to install software, called a driver, for converting the data outputted by application software into a control code which can be interpreted by the peripheral.
With such driver, the function of communicating with a peripheral equipment, and the function of converting the instruction from the OS (an acronym of operating system) of the PC into the control code are constituted by a group of driver files. When the PC uses a peripheral, the PC receives all the related driver files, and by implementing object registration of the peripheral to the OS, makes it operable.
To install a printer driver in the PC, the OS standard install wizard is available or the setup tool is offered by the vendor, and when a single package supports a plurality of models, the user must select the model to be installed and the optional configuration to be provided in the installation operation using such a wizard or a setup tool.
Further, to inform the model name and the optional configuration of the user, some systems broadcast the network connected a peripheral equipment for picking up the model name, while others detect the locally connected a peripheral equipment by the PnP (acronym of plug and play) method.
Japanese patent application publication No. 2001-202321 provides one example; as disclosed in it, a communication method for computer systems that allows the user to connect the computer to a peripheral equipment for operating the peripheral regardless of which of the computer OS and the peripheral was put on sale, and peripherals which are compatible with that communication method are available.
Japanese patent application publication No. 7-311663 provides another example; as disclosed in it, a printer which allows the model name of it to be automatically identified by the computer connected to it, and when the computer is not provided with the printer driver corresponding to the printer, transfers that printer driver to the computer and registers it to the computer is available.
Japanese patent application publication No. 2000-137593 provides still another example; as disclosed in it, an information processing device, an information processing method, an information processing system, a storage medium for storing an information processing program, a delivery device for sending an information processing program, and an information processing program product are available which can automatically configure the user interface for the program to control the peripheral in accordance with the functions acquired from that peripheral.
However, when a peripheral equipment is to be registered, it is mandatory to use the driver file specific to that peripheral, and if the OS is not provided with that driver file, the user must acquire the required driver file.
Further, it is impossible to previously provide the OS with the driver files specific to the peripherals which will be released in the future, thus in most cases, the user must acquire the driver files.
In such a case, the storage medium (or the server PC on the network) which accommodates the driver files must be mounted on the PC, and from it, all the related driver files must be copied on the storage medium, such as a PC local hard disk.
In addition, it is generally required that, when a peripheral equipment is to be registered to the OS, all the related driver files must be arranged in the same local PC before registration.
Further, with the OS standard install wizard or the setup tool by the vendor, the model name of the pertinent peripheral and the optional configuration cannot be acquired, if the power for the peripheral is turned off in the installation of the driver. Still further, when a plurality of model names are listed up, the proper model name may not be identified, and the user is required to inquire an informed manager of the model name and the like, or make an operation, such as consulting the manual for the peripheral to know the model name.